The U.N. Palestinian aid agency has been at the center of controversy since the war began.
Jerusalem:
The Israeli military on Monday accused the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, of employing “more than 450 terrorists” belonging to groups including Hamas.
The accusation intensifies Israel’s crackdown on the agency, which is at the heart of efforts to provide humanitarian aid in Gaza, where aid groups warn of looming famine after nearly five months of war between Israel and Hamas.
“According to intelligence, UNRWA also employs more than 450 terrorists belonging to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, mainly Hamas,” a military statement said.
UNRWA employs approximately 30,000 staff in the occupied territories, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, including approximately 13,000 in the Gaza Strip.
The military also released an audio recording of an alleged “terrorist working as an Arabic language teacher at an UNRWA school” who “describes his entry into Israeli territory and the seizure of Israeli women during the October 7 Hamas attack.” Hostage Situation”. The war begins.
AFP could not independently confirm the claims in the statement.
UNRWA has been at the center of controversy since Israel accused about a dozen of its employees of participating in an Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,160 people, according to an AFP tally. , most of whom are civilians.
Several countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany and Japan, suspended funding to UNRWA following Israel’s accusations. But the European Commission said on Friday it would provide 50 million euros ($54 million) in funding to UNRWA in recognition of the steps taken by the United Nations.
UNRWA chief Filippo Lazzarini said Israel had provided no evidence against his former employee.
The United Nations fired staff members accused by Israel and has begun an internal investigation.
Israel’s latest accusations against UNRWA come on the same day that Lazzarini prepares to defend his organization’s work at the United Nations General Assembly.
In a letter to the president of parliament, Lazzarini said there was a “serious threat” to the agency’s ability to carry out its duties. He urged member states to “provide the political support needed to sustain”.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 30,500 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest statistics from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
Israel has summoned its ambassador to the United Nations home for “immediate consultations” over the U.N.’s attempts to “suppress” Hamas’ message of sexual violence, its foreign minister said on Monday, further escalating tensions.
Israel has criticized the United Nations for not responding quickly enough to accounts of victims of rape and sexual assault allegedly committed during Hamas’s invasion of Israel.
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